Lost & Found
by Marti Thatcher
Summary: (MP/J) Have you ever woken up and not known where you were and what was going on around you? How do you get back to what you know?


**Lost & Found**

.by Marti Thatcher. 

(2003)

Notes: The Pretender fanfiction. I own nothing! Well, except the ideas that come out of my head. ;)

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When her eyes finally opened she found herself somewhere unfamiliar.  Her eyes adjusted to the sunlight streaming through the windows and she saw a room, a bedroom.  She was lying on a bed, warm, soft, and looking straight across the room to an antique chest of drawers that matched the bed.  Dark burgundy oak. Her eyes searched the room until they fell on a floor length mirror, she saw herself, brunette, blue-eyed, slightly tossed from the night's rest.  That's when she noticed the man sleeping next to her. Her mind raced, _how the hell did I get here, where is here, and who is he? _As if hearing her inquires, he roused from his peaceful slumber, and turned to face her. 

"Mornin' Parker," he said sleepily.

Parker that was her name, and the man, Jarod, Jarod from the Center.  _What the hell am I doing in a bed with Jarod?_

Seeing the look of absolute surprise in her eyes, he immediately shook off the veil of sleep and sat up in bed, "What's wrong, Parker?"

Parker tried to find the words to yell and scream for an explanation to all of this, but she couldn't.  She felt oddly safe in Jarod's bed.  "What am I doing here?" she finally choked out.

"This is your bedroom, you live here."

"No it's not, I do not live here."

Jarod swore under his breath, then said slowly, "What's the last thing you remember, Parker."

Parker was silent for a moment, frown creases appearing on her forehead.  "I – I – … I was in me office, talking to Broots on the phone, he was saying… something about…"

"Finding me?" Jarod allowed a small smile to tug at his lips.

"Yes, he had a lead."

"Parker, that was three years ago."

"What? No, it just happened the other day."

"I'm sorry but –"

"No," Parker got out of the bed, "I don't believe it." She went straight to the closet and started to find clothes, all of them her size. 

"Parker, wait," Jarod get out of bed after her. "Let me explain." 

"I don't need an explanation; I just need to get out of here," Parker headed for the adjacent bathroom to change.

Jarod grabbed her arm, "Where are you going to go?"

"Home, the Center will be looking for me."

Jarod sighed, "The Center is gone, Parker."

"You're insane, they can't be gone. It's the Center, Jarod."

Jarod lead Parker back to the bed and forced her to sit down. "The Center's gone, Parker.  All the buildings were destroyed, files, data, everything is gone. There is no sign that the Center ever existed." 

"I don't understand," Parker rubbed her temples; it was all too much for her to handle, way too fast. "How did it happen?"

"Long story short, the Triumvirate was convinced to shut down the Center."

"Why would they shut it down?"

"Raines started running it into the ground, basically. And besides, how were they supposed to run the operation when the key to it all was gone?" 

"What?"

"I died three years ago."

Parker laughed nervously, "Okay, now you're just bullshitting me."

"Alright fine," Jarod conceded, "I didn't die, technically, but in the Center's and the Triumvirate's I did."

"You faked your death?"

"Yes, with help."

An image of Jarod hanging from a cheap motel ceiling fan, a rope tied around his neck flashed before Parker's eyes. She shuddered. It was gone as quick as it came.

"Parker? Are you alright?"

"Fine. I'm fine. Jarod, if something as important as the fall of the Center happened, why can't I remember anything about it?"

Jarod breathed deeply for a moment; this was always the hardest part. "To leave no trace of the Center, the Triumvirate felt that the people who worked for the Center were liabilities."

"They didn't-"

"They tried. A lot of good people lost their lives. The Center went out in true Center fashion, hurting more people. We were able to get a good number of people out to safety and protection, but not all."

Another flash: watching from a safe distance, buildings on a blue cove explode and burn. A symbol of so much pain go down in flames. Then the image disappears from view.

"We?" Parker choked out.

"Me, you, Sydney, Broots, Angelo and Sam.  We can all say we've survived the Center. Lyle and Raines on the other hand…"

"They're gone?"

Jarod nodded.

"For good?"

Another nod.

"Can't say I'm upset," Parker was glad her friend's were all safe but, "I still don't understand why I can't remember."

"The Triumvirate had sent men to get rid of all Center persons.  I was careless and they found us. We tried to run, but they shot you.  You woke up in hospital and you couldn't remember a thing. Eventually you regained your full memory but it took a while. Sometimes you get memory lapse spurts, it's happened several times already."

" This has happened before?"

Jarod smiled reassuringly. "It used to take you weeks to remember, but it keeps lessening; only a few days the last time.  Sydney tells me it's not harmful and that I shouldn't worry so much, but I always do. He says surrounding you with familiar things can help jog your memory. I'm glad it happened at home this time."

"Home?"

"This is our home Parker, you, me and our son, Liam."

"Our son?"

"Yes, the baby boy you delivered from Brigitte."

"My little brother… is my son?"

"Our son Parker. He was the Center's last attempt at a prodigy child."

"But he's ours?"

"All ours." Jarod reached for her hands and held them tight.  Parker felt an odd pressure on her left hand.  She looked down and saw a golden band adorning her ring finger, and a matching one on Jarod's.

In her mind's eye she saw a small church in a small town. She saw Sydney leading her down the aisle. She saw Debbie holding her baby boy, Broots, Angelo, and Sam. All smiling, all happy. And Parker saw Jarod, standing proudly at the altar looking absolutely gorgeous with hope sparkling in his eyes; hope of a new life, without the Center. 

And she remembered. She had a family, an immediate family of Jarod and her baby boy, Liam and an extended family that included all her friends. She remembered all the love and laughter shared. She remembered all the release of all the boxed in pain.  Parker remembered every word said, and every thought unspoken.

Parker remembered the night before; she blushed.  Parker remembered what she had forgotten to tell him, her husband; what she had learned from the doctor the day before. 

"Parker, are you alright?" 

"I'm fine," Parker smiled. "I'm perfect."

THE END.


End file.
